Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced that he will step down at the end of December. He was one the last remaining original cabinet appointees and will have served six years.
His family recently returned to Chicago, where Duncan ran public schools for several years before his appointment as Secretary of Education. During his tenure, Duncan repeatedly clashed with teachers unions, parents, and Congress through initiatives like Common Core and support of charter schools.
Former New York state commissioner John King, a deputy secretary at the agency for the last few months, will take his place.